I’m posting very late today not because of computer problems (saints be praised) but because I went back to Jefferson City yesterday for an eye exam, and visited my parents while in the neighborhood.  It was good to get to see them as well as the dog and cat.  I don’t get to go back there as often as I’d like.  I didn’t end up getting back into town until after one in the morning, so I just kind of crashed out as soon as I got in the door, not really able to do any editing or posting.

This is an image I shot back in the summer in Oklahoma City.  This little place, positioned somewhat awkwardly in the street, is something of a local landmark.  If you want to meet someone in this part of the city, you can give them directions from “the milk bottle building.”

I think I’m starting to get a little more accustomed to having only small spurts of time to shoot at once.  This project of posting daily (even though I haven’t kept up with it perfectly of late) has kind of forced me to do that.  I naturally tend to wait to do things until I have “enough” time to do them “right.”  This project has pushed me to head out and grab a handfull of images whenever I can cram it in with the rest of my schedule which, of course, results in a larger number of images in my archive; which is the whole point of the thing after all.

On the computer front, my professor suggested that I just avoid keeping Photoshop and Lightroom open at the same time.  That’s kind of a pain, but not as much as having the computer sit there frozen for two hours from trying to save one lousy PSD.  And it seems to work, or at least help.  I managed to edit today’s image without any crashing or explosions.  Which is a very nice change.

Today we have an image shot directly behind my house.  It’s nice to be able to find something interesting to photograph near home, especially with the cold weather we’ve had in this area lately.

Anyway, now it’s time for an early bedtime, the first I’ve had in far too long.

So this was taken for an assignment in the studio class I’m taking this semester.  I have mixed feelings about working in the studio; on one hand, it’s great that you’ve got total control over what stuff is in the frame and exactly where things are in relation to each other,  the direction, quality, and amount of light on the subject, and everything else, which provides numerous opportunities for creativity.  On the other hand, shooting on the street gives an opportunity to explore the world we live in visually, finding an infinite number of images based on unique perspectives.

I have a friend who absolutely loves shooting in the studio.  Put her in a dark room with a few lights and an empty bottle or something, and she’ll be there for hours.  I, on the other hand, would rather shoot in a downtown area.  To each his own.  But I’ve always thought it interesting that one photographer would prefer to spend his/her off hours in the studio, and the other would prefer to just grab a camera and go for a walk.  As for me, I find that ideas come more readily and more naturally when I’m just poking around somewhere.  You don’t always know just where you’re going to end up or what photographic opportunities will be waiting for you once you get there.  Sometimes it really seems as if a photograph has just been sitting there, patiently waiting for me to come and capture it.

I’m having more computer issues of some kind.  Excessive crashing, etc.  But the video card’s working fine, so I guess I should be grateful for that.  Anyway, if I can’t get rid of this problem otherwise, I’ll be reinstalling Windows and starting over once again, so tomorrow’s image may be late in coming.  Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.

“A computer is a device that makes very fast, very accurate errors.” –Unknown

So I’ve been a little sporadic in posting my pictures here.  This is partly from how “off” I am from the computer disaster this weekend and the stress and lack of sleep that went with it, as well as these little things they have in college called “classes.”  Apparently, it’s when a group of students meets in a classroom and do…something or other.  Not quite sure about that part yet…I’ve even heard rumors (but they’re just rumors, mind you) that if you go to a bunch of classes for a while, you’ll get something called a “degree.”

Seriously though, my biggest challenge is balancing required school stuff with photography stuff, which is just as important, but doesn’t involve a drop in GPA when you miss a day.  I even have a little trouble making time to write a little blurb here.  The issue, of course, is time managment.  That seems to be the most difficult thing about this whole business.

“Peace and an hour’s time–given these, one creates.  Emotional heights are easily attained; peace and time are not.”  –from the Daybooks of Edward Weston

So after several unpleasant days of not having a properly functioning computer, I finally got a graphics card that will support my monitor.  I won’t go into the entire story of what happened, but I will list some of the things that I’ve learned from this experience.

• Integrated graphics are bad.  Very bad.
• Aftermarket graphics cards do not list their maximum supported resolution on the box.  For some reason, we simply accept this.
• I know more about computer hardware than the people at my local office supply store.  I have only recently come to realize this.
• Technical support representatives do not return phone calls, emails, or smoke signals.
• Reinstalling Windows Vista is easy.  This is necessary because it must be done very often.
• My next computer will be custom built.

So, although I am several dollars poorer, I now have not only a computer that will work correctly with my rather large monitor, I can do my editing without having photoshop crash every five minutes.  What a concept.

On another note, it is a relief to be able to post again.  It doesn’t seem right to have gone so long without doing so.

I’m still recovering from a bit of a computer disaster, which left me temporarily unable to post photos, so I’ll be posting a new image sometime in the morning.  Goodnight for now.

-Phil

So I reinstalled Windows Vista after getting sick of having Photoshop crash on me whenever I do anything complex.  Problem is, my graphics card now refuses to display at my monitor’s native resolution of 1680×1050.  When I first bought the monitor, I had to update the driver to make it work, but that fixed the problem.  Now when I update the driver and restart the computer, it still won’t let me set the needed resolution.  I’ve been here for hours trying different drivers and settings, but nothing will make this thing work right.  I may just have to get a new graphics card, I don’t know.  It’s after 1 AM and I’m at the end of my rope.  If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be eternally greatful for them.

“@#%^*! graphics card…” Phil Williams